Broken Rabbit
Broken Rabbit is the 74th chapter of Jun Mochizuki's Pandora Hearts. Synopsis The Alice twins say that their black rabbit had always been by their side since the very beginning, forever. It has started to rain, and Alice comes to in Echo's arms and asks her what she thought she was doing, ordering her to let her go. Echo explains to Alice that if she had not saved her, Alice would have been turned to dust because of B-Rabbit's power. Alice states that she didn't ask for Echo's help, also stating that she would drop-kick Echo. Echo says that she knows Alice didn't ask for her help, although she doesn't get to finish what she was saying because Alice tells her that she would grind Echo into mince meat, Echo finishes by telling Alice that when it comes to herself, her body moves of its own accord. Echo's attention is suddenly drawn as she asks herself what she's seeing. Oz is standing in a crater with B-Rabbit's scythe, still overcome by Jack's own soul, Echo asks herself if that truly was Oz. Jack states that Alice interferes all the time before slamming the base of B-Rabbit's scythe's handle into the ground. Jack says that it really is too bad, but it looks as though time is up. Within his subconscious, Oz helplessly questions what Jack is doing. Jack explains that things were unfolding as he had thought, by appearing prematurely, he was being drained of his energy. Jack tells Alice that even though he wanted to make sure he disposed of both herself and Glen (Leo) by any means necessary, it was best if he put that on hold for the time being. Using Oz's power, Jack makes the invisible chains that prevent the world from falling into the Abyss appear. Oz remembers that he had seen the same thing 100 years ago, and Jack speaks to himself, telling Oz to lend him his power once more. A memory is shown, citizens of Sablier as well as Alice and Oswald hear the disruption of the opening of the Door to the Abyss. Vincent is thrown back and knock unconscious, and Jack approaches the Door, putting his hand on Vincent's head. Oz remembers something he had been asked by the Intention of the Abyss. She had asked Oz to guide Jack down the deep hole into the Abyss because he had said that he wanted to stay with the Intention forever and ever. Following this question, Oz was transformed into a Chain. Jack is blown away by the sight of his Chain as it comes out of the Door to the Abyss, stating that he had been waiting to meet Oz the B-Rabbit. Jack then tells Oz that he'd like Oz to form a contract with him. Oz thinks over what he had done for Lacie, who had been with him since the beginning and being the one who gave him life, delivering her thoughts and feelings to Jack. Oz questions if this was a mistake, and whether or not everything had gone a miss. Jack then tells Lacie that it would just be a little bit longer aloud. In present day Jack apologizes to Lacie for making her wait so long, but he was finally going to bring the world to her. Jack then cuts the chains with B-Rabbit's scythe, with Oz remembering the same event 100 years before hand, which causes an explosion of light. Inside the chamber of the Sealing Stone, all are blinded by the bright light. Rufus is shocked by this and asks what is happening. Echo covers her eyes though Alice looks into the light because of the nostalgia it brings. Cracks form across both the sky and the ground of Reveil, and light flows outward from them. Upon seeing the lights, Gilbert remembers the beginning of the Tragedy. The guests who were at the Succession Ceremony began questioning the earthquake and the lights, though Oswald soon orders them all to be silent. He them commands his Baskervilles to kill everyone in the castle, even the women and children, leaving none alive. Gilbert remembers walking in to see the Baskervilles murdering people, and this causes Gilbert to turn and run out of the chamber. An awoken Vincent calls out for Gilbert, but he doesn't stop. Break is silent as he watches Gilbert leave. He orders Rufus to call off Dodo, and when he doesn't, Break presses his palm into the ground and uses Mad Hatter's power to free himself from Dodo and escape. Rufus glares at Break and sits down and Break thinks about how Rufus still has Sheryl's Key to the Abyss. Break then thinks about how Gilbert was a Baskerville, servant to Glen Baskerville, and so Break had to stop him from getting to Oz. Rufus then remarks on how he hadn't finished what he had found out as Dodo fades back into his body. Leo, who had been unconscious because of Jack's attack, finally awakens. Jack laughs hysterically, going on about how beautiful the sight of the lights was, saying that it was like gold grains of sand dancing about. Alice struggles to ask Jack what he had done. Jack calmly says that he had severed the chains surrounding their world, and in the center of the Earth, the chains are beginning to crumble. Whilst it will take some time, Jack states that soon the whole world would be dragged down into the Abyss. Alice is speechless. Jack playfully asks her what was the matter, saying that even though she had lost her memories, the spectacle of the grains of light was still remembered within her hearts and soul. Jack explains how he had cut the chains 100 years ago as well, but Alice and Glen (Oswald) had gotten in the way. Oswald is shown calling to his Chains, Raven, Owl, Dodo and Jabberwock, sending them out into Sablier. Jack carries Vincent through the Baskerville mansion, finding many people have been slaughtered. Jack then notices that the sound of the chains crumbling had ceased. Jack screams, asking why the sound had stopped, until he sees the giant wings of one of Oswald's Chains. Jack then angrily shouts that he knew it was Glen's doing. In a part of the mansion, Oswald looks out over Sablier. He is approached by an unknown Baskerville, who asks if Oswald was going to release his five Chains. Oswald explains that with the power of Raven, Owl, Dodo, Gryphon and Jabberwock, he could put a stop to the further crumbling of the chains. Oswald states that because some of the chains were destroyed, he believed that much of the Abyss' power will spill out into their world through the places where the chains were severed. Oswald then states that if this was truly what was going to happen, then it was likely that all of Sablier would be returned to the darkness of the Abyss.More of the massacre the Baskervilles were taking part in is shown, as well as Gilbert running throughout the Baskervilles' mansion, and Vincent waking up alone, surrounded by all the corpses of the people already killed by the Baskervilles. Alice is shown in Lacie's old tower, suddenly she turns around, startled by something. Jack finds Oswald, his sword covered in fresh blood, and asks why Oswald would have done such a thing. When Oswald doesn't immediately respond, Jack becomes furious and demands that Oswald answers him. Oswald asks if by the awful thing that Jack was referring to was his order for the Baskervilles to obliterate all the humans. Oswald explains how soon Sablier would fall to the Abyss, and so he theorized that the people within would be filled with the Abyss' power and become Chains. Oswald stated that if this was true, as Chains, when they died the souls of these people would not be able to return to their world after 100 cycles as they're meant to, but instead they would be trapped within the Abyss for all of eternity, and so Oswald just wanted to prevent that from happening. Even though Oswald could only prevent the peoples' souls from being trapped in the Abyss within his own range, they would at least once again be able to walk the Earth again in 100 years. Jack feverishly tells Oswald to stop, as what he was really trying to ask Oswald was why he had put to stop the destruction of the chains. Oswald's head bows, and when it raises up again, it shows that he has become incredibly upset after realizing that it was Jack who had broken the chains, and says that of course it was him '...you bastard.'. Jack tries to interject, saying, 'Glen...' but Glen just reiterates his last sentence.Oswald turns on Jack, and was going to continue to yell at him, when Gilbert came running at him asking them to stop fighting. Oswald is stunned by Gilbert's presence and Jack is shown to be crying now as blood splatters. Jack slams his palm into the door frame of Alice's room in her tower. Alice is surprised by what she was seeing of Jack, as he was covered in blood and so she runs to him. Alice asks Jack if he got into a fight with someone and whether or not he was okay. Jack immediately grabs Alice's shoulders, Alice is confused with what Jack was doing, and Jack only says her name. Alice continues, saying that the earthquake had been going on for so long, and it was scaring her. Jack then asks Alice to stop Glen's Chains, while the power she'd lent Jack through B-Rabbit could destroy the Chains, Oswald's Chains were getting in the way. Jack then states that Oz was too drained of power to continue severing chains, he then addresses Alice, before correcting himself and calling her the Intention of the Abyss. Alice pushes Jack away and asks him why he seems to think that everything is okay. Alice starts to cry and cover her ears as she asks if he can't see it or hear it, if he can't see that Oz crying and screaming. Oz is repeating how he doesn't want to destroy or to kill, before begging Alice to save him. Jack tells Alice that such things were inconsequential, tackling Alice to the ground he then demands that Alice switch places with the Intention because Alice was no good. Jack tries calling out to the Intention, telling her to respond to his voice. Alice tells Jack to stop because his Alice wasn't going to be coming out, however, through Alice, the Intention had heard Jack's plea. Jack asks the Intention if she can hear him, stating that if things stayed the way they were, Jack wouldn't be able to come and see her in the Abyss. He then tells the Intention to hurry up and stop Oswald's Chains, and if she couldn't do that, give Oz more power to sever the chains once more. Alice tells Jack that what he was doing was too much for Oz. Jack continues to say that he wanted the world and the Abyss to be one, and that he needed the Intention's power. He calls out to the Intention once more, and Alice hears the Intention tell Alice to switch places with her. Alice states that she wouldn't and the Intention asks why, as Alice was being unfair. The Intention then tells Alice that if she didn't move out of the way, she was going to use her power to do it herself. Alice thinks about how bad the situation had gotten, and so she grabs a pair of scissors off of a table, stabbing Jack in the arm and inching away from him on the floor. Alice asks Jack if he planned to destroy the world with Oz's powers. She tells Jack that he's stupid and that she would never allow something like that to happen. The Intention once again asks Alice to switch places with her. Alice goes over what was happening in her head, and how soon she'd be taken over, and if that happened Oz and the Intention would destroy the world. Alice addresses Oz, saying that he had been with her from the very beginning, stating that because she was with him, she was very happy. Alice thanks Oz, before telling him not to worry, as the Intention was the other Alice, and Oz was her's, and so she wasn't going to let anyone take what was her's, and that she was going to protect it with her own two hands until the very end. Oz reaches out to try and stop Alice, and he and Jack watch together as Alice stabs herself with the scissors and dies. Oz watches and thinks about how happy he felt when Alice smiled, when they were together, Oz felt warm and important, he wanted to protect Alice. In present day, Jack watches as Oz cries within their subconscious. Jack tells Oz that there was no reason for him to be sad, as in his hands was the emptiness that he had from the start. Jack tells Oz that he is the destructive Chain B-Rabbit, and that everyone he loved and should protect, everything he had, it was all fake. Jack tells Oz to not forget all of that, before fading away into light, leaving Oz alone within his subconscious. Oz begins to regain his control over his body. Alice notices this and questions if it really was Oz. Oz is surrounded by three Baskervilles. Alice tries to run to Oz, but she trips, realizing that her body was becoming transparent. Oz looks up to see Gilbert in front of him, gun in hand, ready to protect Oz from the Baskervilles. Gilbert asks if Oz was hurt, and Oz just tells Gilbert that he's sorry for what he'd done. Oz grabs onto Gilbert's coat because of his regret, and suddenly, Leo addresses Gilbert, having been taken over by Oswald. Oswald tells Gilbert to shoot Oz, and he does. Gilbert doesn't realize what he had done until he sees Oz's body start to fall to the ground. Alice sees this and screams. Break just arrived on the scene, and the Baskervilles were tending to their master. Gilbert is horrified by what had happened, and Oswald tells Gilbert through Leo that he had done well. Then he puts Leo's hand on Gilbert's shoulder and says that after not changing a bit from the past to the present, it would be good if Gilbert continued to be Oswald's servant. Oz opens his eye, which is suddenly red, and stares at his hand, thinking about what Jack had said about having nothing and all the things that Oz had let slip out of his hands. Oz is then shown with his eyes closed, lying on the ground. Characters in order of appearance Terms Trivia *The chapter's alternate title is "Empty Palm". Navigation Category:Manga